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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 10, 2003 Asante, Brookings officials look at hospital feasibility By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Asante Health System will help Curry County residents decide whether to build a hospital in Brookings. Asante has agreed to work with city officials in Brookings and managers of Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach to determine the best way to improve health care on Oregon’s south coast. "Nobody knows what this thing will look like yet," said Ed Wait, Brookings’ director of economic and urban development. Asante is the parent company of Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford and Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. Wait said Brookings officials asked Asante for assistance because Curry County falls within RVMC’s regional service area. About two-thirds of Curry County’s 21,000 residents live in or near Brookings and the adjacent unincorporated community of Harbor. They must travel to Gold Beach, 29 miles north, or Crescent City, Calif., 26 miles south, for hospital care. Curry County residents with acute medical problems are transported to hospitals in Medford or Portland, depending on staffing levels and the nature of each case. Advertisement The feasibility study will be prepared by a third party that has not been selected, said Andrea Jablonski, Asante’s marketing director. It will take six to eight months to complete. Wait said Curry County needs more health care because it is growing, and many of the new residents are older people. Twenty-seven percent of the county’s residents are over age 65 — the highest percentage of Medicare-eligible residents of any Oregon county. Jablonski said one idea being discussed would be construction of a "critical-access hospital," a designation created by the federal government in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Such hospitals receive more favorable reimbursement for hospital services provided to Medicare patients. The law limits the size of critical-access hospitals to no more than 25 beds and requires them to provide around-the-clock emergency care. Any new hospital would have to clear a number of significant hurdles, said Ginny Hochberg, chief executive officer at Curry General Hospital. A site would have to be selected, financing would have to be arranged and state officials would have to approve the plans and issue a "certificate of need." "There’s two parts to building a new hospital," she said. "One is to build it. The other is paying the bills." She noted that no certificates of need have been issued for at least 10 years. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times